Branded
by jenwbu
Summary: A new student with a familiar face reminds Daniella of the past and has her falling in love with him all over again. But as she does she discovers the truth about her family and why he's returned.


_There it was again. That horrible stench of flames erupting. I slowly peeled my eyes open and saw the immediate orange colours of flames eating away at my house. I gasped in horror and I started to panic. The smoke was intensifying and the longer I stayed put in my bed the harder it got for me to breathe. I got up and started earching for my family. I didn't care that I was bare foot, all I wanted was my parents and brother to be safe, to be away from all this. _

_My parents' bedroom was right across the hall, I started running, screaming for their name when the deafening scream of my mother was heard. She called my name so I answered but everytime I responded it was like she couldn't hear me. I was reaching their bedroom door when a hot line of fire erupted from the wooden floor and ate at the door frame. I backed away in defense and bawled my eyes out, wishing it would all be over. I had to get my parents out of the house but there was no way in Hell I could ever make it in and then out. _

_I had enough courage to decide that I was face the fire and run inside when another tide of flames erupted almost burning my face. I felt a weak but firm arm grasp my waist and pull me from the fire. My brother, Daniil, had saved me. He carried me bridal style out of the house and we dropped to the floor with a thud as the entire house corrupted in flames and madness. The windows shattered, the foundation of the house was beginning to collapse, I pulled my weak brother further from the wreckage to keep us safe. He was half conscious and when he began to sit up the entire house had collapsed in on itself and everything was just a pile of my childhood and my memories. Gone. I bellowed out a cry, the fire had perished everything I loved and everything I had. Now I had nothing. I ran towards the house making sure to keep a distance, I stood there wailing llike there was no tomorrow. _

_Daniil grabbed my forearm and pulled me aside. He wiped my tears vigorously,as if he was trying to rush things. Fear was evident in his squalied face and guilt could also be seen. He kissed me on the forehead and told me everything was going to be alright, I believed him, like I always did when I took the blame for his actions. _

_"Danette, we don't have much time but they're coming. They're coming for us. They're coming for you," He said as a tear streamed down his face. I furrowed my eyebrows asking for him to elaborate. "I'm going to do something I'm going to regret but you have to trust me okay?" He asked panicked. _

_I shook my head in confusion. What was he going to do? Kill me? "Daniil what's going on?" I asked him. _

_He shook his head and kissed my forehead again. "There's no time to explain but when I say run, you run okay?" He ordered, I had no choice but to obey at his commands. He smiled warmly and reassuringly and spun me around. He carefully brushed my hair to one side and tilted my head in the same direction as my hair. I was scared, what was he doing to me? I closed my eyes having no clue to the situation when something sunk its teeth into the veins of my neck and started to suck the blood. My eyes shot open and as I whimpered at the pain I realised my brother had bitten me. Daniil was a vampire. _

_Soon he let go and wiped his mouth clean, the trees rustled as the fire still crackled. Nathaniel stood up and stared at the trees,observing momentarily at their movement. Then they rustled again, this time with more force._

_"Run Danette, don't look back okay? Promise not to look back. When you reach the road wait for a car to pass and feed yourself. Just go, now!" He commanded pulling me up and pushing me away. I whimpered and covered the bite mark with my hand as I started to sprint through the woods, away from the wreckage, away from what was about to haunt me forever. Then his voice yelled out. The pain in his voice caused me to stop and look back, his cry made me shiver, I covered my ears and started to sprint when another deafening scream from my brother shook the trees. He bellowed angrily, like he was blaming the death of our parents on me._

* * *

I bolted upright from my bed, panting as I awoke from my nigthmare. Beads of sweat were trickling from my forehead as I hauled my knees to my chest. The nightmare was a memory of the living past. Ever since that night of the fire and my brother's death I realized my family had kept something hidden from me, I also realized I was in danger. 2 days after the fire I was now a fully transformed vampire, I used my abilities to my advantage and snuck on a boat heading out of Russia to Europe. I travelled to many places seeking jobs, money and food. Though that wasn't much of a struggle. I travelled to Rome, Paris, Bucharest, Madrid, you name it. One night I found a boat in Bratislava, Slovakia that was heading towards the US, so I hopped in. When I arrived I got lost in a place so beautiful it was hard not to explore. I went wandering through the place like a lost puppy, hungry and tired, when the moon set I got so tired I collapsed but I hadn't realized a small village house nearby. When I awoke I was introduced to Esther and Mikael. They had a family of vampires, they were like me. Esther fed me and nurtured me for a while and before I knew it I fell in love with her youngest son. After a family feud I decided not to intervene so I ran away but my lover found me. That last night we had together he promised we would be together for all eternity, so he branded me. I was oblivious and reckless to how powerful he was but I let it get to me. That memory still taunts me just like the memory of my family. I wish it would all go away, but it doesn't and it never will because he's still out there, even if he's staked, he's waiting for my return and after hearing all the horrible things he had done over the century I plan on making no return.

I shivered the thought away from my head and looked at the time. 6am. I rubbed my temples, my head was banging and I had the mother of all headaches. I tentatively forced myself to drag my lifeless body out of my covers and to the bathroom. I brushed my nimble fingers through my jet black hair and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I ignored myself and checked the calendar in the bathroom.

_Tuesday 6th September 2013_

Damn, the first day back to school. I sighed and grunted then stripped my clothes off my body. I turned my shower on and I waited for the water to get hot, I bit at my nails and waited patiently. When I checked the temperature and decided it was hot enough I pulled my hair up into a loose and messy bun. As I did I felt my finger caress the mark that he had left on me. It reminded just how worthless I was that I was his possession, his own personal brand. I fingered the mark gently, over the century the mark he left still stung, I felt those three letters on the back of my neck and it angered me. Those 3 letters were not only my favorite but I hated them too.

_Kol_


End file.
